Valentine's Day

Can One Woman Eat a 24-Inch Shrimp Po-Boy?

Some people spent their Valentine's Day dining amid white tablecloths or indulging in a quiet, romantic meal at home. Still others spent it as any other Thursday evening. I spent mine watching one of my best friends come face to face with two feet of bread, fried shrimp and hot sauce. "I've been tr ... More >>

Houston Is Bad For Romance Because Of....All The Rain?

The days leading up to Valentine's Day can fill reporters' in-boxes with lots of "studies" purporting to show some type of love-related finding that's connected to whatever product is being pushed. "San Diego Is Most Romantic City Because of Drano," one might say, for instance. Everyone knows they ... More >>

Last Night: fun. at Bayou Music Center

fun. Bayou Music Center February 13, 2013 How long has it been since America's young people have had something to be optimistic about besides the music on the radio? The '80s? That must be the guiding principle behind newly crowned Grammy Best New Artist winners fun., who played to a full Bayou M ... More >>

All The Luxury, Half the Price: A Romantic Valentine's Day Dinner for Two

Romance is in the air...and in my kitchen. My fiancé and I are skipping the stuffy Valentine's Day steakhouse dinner in favor of an at-home meal filled just as much luxury. By using lobster tails in a decadent macaroni and cheese and serving strawberries with a homemade champagne vinaigrette, we'll ... More >>

A Month of Chocolate: 28 Ways to Indulge

We did it last year and this year, we're doing it again. It's almost February, which means in addition to fleeting resolutions, it's all about the chocolate baby. From Bacon & Chocolate Waffles to a piping cold cup of Frozen Hot Chocolate, here are 28 Ways to Indulge: Friday, February 1: Head to ... More >>

Upcoming Events: Somm-vasion at Phil's Wine Lounge and More

The brand-new Phil's Wine Lounge downstairs at Philippe is breaking in its boots by launching a Guest Sommelier Series starting February 6. Hosted by Vanessa Trevino Boyd -- resident sommelier at Philippe and last year's Best of Houston® winner for Best Sommelier -- the series will feature intimate ... More >>

Early V-Day Prep: The "Have A Heart" Cocktail

No sooner have the Christmas M&Ms been cleared from the shelves of Kroger then scores of red and pink chocolate boxes appear in preparation for Valentine's Day. I used to fight such excessively early celebrations. Now, I just kind of embrace it. In the spirit of the upcoming heart-themed holiday an ... More >>

Cheap Flights to Disney World Start in February on Spirit Airlines

Spirit Airlines, an ultra-low fare airline based in Florida, announced it will begin daily nonstop flights between Orlando and Houston on Valentine's Day this year. Hair Balls did a quick check of the cost for a round trip ticket to Orlando in February and found a fare of $118.79. By comparison, the ... More >>

5 Fast Food "Secret Menu" Burgers You Probably Shouldn't Try

Remember the McGangbang? Yeah, sorry...We're sorry we brought it up again, too. But it got us thinking: Surely there have to be other "secret menu" items lurking out there, just waiting to be discovered. And because we live in a sick, sick world, there are. So we dug them up for you, because we'r ... More >>

Where Do Mexican Gardeners Throw Away Their Clippings?

And do Mexicans eat chocolates?

Houston Restaurant Weeks Dinner at Vic & Anthony's

You'd be hard-pressed to find a better deal than a $35 three-course meal at our 2011 Best Expense Account Restaurant. Lucky for us, Vic and Anthony's is participating in this year's Houston Restaurant Weeks. A top-notch filet and a donation to charity? I'm in. Last Friday was my first time at the ... More >>

Foodie Floats' Cupid Cruise

Bad Ass Weekend

Beautiful Strangers

A bar in a grocery store? You read that right.

Katsuya Debuts with Bites and Cocktails for Tootsie's Fashion Show

Photos by Mai PhamCrispy Rice with Spicy Tuna, the dish that Katsuya is famous for​The theme was Valentine's Day, the title "Love's in Fashion," and the benefit was for the Art Car Parade. On Monday, 18 celebrity Houston couples, including the restaurant world's Robert del Grande and his wife ... More >>

Where Are We Drinking?

I'm fairly certain that this particular restaurant will be fully packed for Valentine's Day tonight at dinner; after all, it's one of the biggest new restaurants to hit Houston in a while. Does the glass of water in a Riedel glass below look familiar to you? Think you know where we're drinking this ... More >>

We Love Food

Our 100 favorite dishes in Houston.

5 Surprisingly Sexy Dinners for Valentine's Day

So you've decided to buck the traditions this year and take your sweetheart somewhere for dinner that won't be an overpriced, overcrowded mess of boring pasta dishes and flourless chocolate cakes. Good on you! Valentine's Day -- or any good date night -- can be much more romantic when you mix it up ... More >>

First Look at Happy Endings

It only seemed fitting to visit a new food truck called Happy Endings in the throes of Valentine's Day season, I reasoned as I headed out to Bo Concept this afternoon. But really, I was only it it for two things: hot dogs and sunshine. Happy Endings is one of the newer food trucks in town, only on ... More >>

Dinner For Two: A Romantic Valentine's Day Menu

Romance is in the air...and in my kitchen. This year, my fiancé and I decided to skip our usual Valentine's Day steakhouse special and cook an at-home meal full of flavor and passion. With mussels, steak, and shrimp, I'm sure we won't be missing that over-priced prix-fixe steak dinner. Woo your l ... More >>

Romance Under-the-Sea Five-Course Valentine's Dinner

Valentines for Soldiers: Send Your Love (and Baked Goods) to Our Troops

​Although Christmas and New Year's Eve are right around the corner, we're already thinking of Valentine's Day here at Eating Our Words. And that's because this year's Valentines For Soldiers event on Monday, January 16, is going to be bigger and better than ever. Last year, the turnout for th ... More >>

Mourning Big H.A.W.K.'s Should've-Been Birthday

Big H.A.W.K. should've been 42-years-old today. He should've been getting ready to release his newest album, Birds of Pray, the title a play on his name and his unwavering belief in Christ, the music a staunch spine of Houstonisms that Drake would've lovingly sampled in a few years secretly hopi ... More >>

Garden Fresh: Red Bell Peppers

​The only plants left in my warm-weather garden are peppers: Anaheim chiles and bell peppers. The Anaheims are fiercely hot, an effect of the drought, and the green bells are just the opposite. In fact, green peppers are mildly bitter and boring, good mostly for salads, color, and grilled for ... More >>

Garden Fresh: Tomato Race, Over

John Kiely​There it is--The Tomato. That's what I got from three months of planting, watering and fertilizing. I had high hopes as flowers appeared on the vine, then tiny balls emerged and grew into large green tomatoes. The squirrels ran past, back and forth, ignoring the bounty of fruit a ... More >>

More Semen Means Less Depression for Women, Surgeon Writes

Help a woman out.....​Want to make a woman less depressed? Pump some semen into her. Apparently any orifice will do. Of course, that means having unprotected sex, so the above advice, given in a recent issue of Surgery News, the journal of the American College of Surgeons, is causing some pro ... More >>

Steak and a BJ Day: The Male Valentine's Day

​Although one of America's newest holidays does not yet have its own Wikipedia page, it does have two separate Web sites as well as an entry on Urban Dictionary. And that's good enough for us. For the uninitiated, Steak and a BJ Day is the "creation" of Tom Birdsey, a radio talk show host ou ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 1: Joe Apa of Rudz

​Sitting at the bar at Rudz, I noticed that Chef Joe Apa was having one of his epic beer tastings on Valentine's Day, serving five courses paired with beer. I had never been to one of these events, which usually fall on the last Thursday of the month. The dinner started and ended with several ... More >>

NASA's New Comet Recordings: Worth Sampling Or Not?

nasa.govThe Temple 1 comet as seen by NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft​On Valentine's Day, NASA's Stardust was able to get within spitting distance of the comet Temple 1. This was the second visit by our spacecraft after Deep Impact buzzed Temple back in 2005, so it gave scientist their first cha ... More >>

MCM: More Local Music News Than Downtown Street Repairs

Rocks Off mines away all week at this mysterious mountain of Internet just to find all the precious local music news we can. ​This week's honorary soundtrack comes courtesy of HasHBrown, who dropped his Relationsh*t EP on Valentine's Day. MCM is sad to say goodbye to Weird Party and, belated ... More >>

Last Night: Clay Aiken At Jones Hall

Photos by Groovehouse​Clay Aiken Jones Hall February 14, 2011 While most people celebrated Valentine's Day last night, we headed to Jones Hall to see former American Idol contestant Clay Aiken. While it wasn't necessarily our ideal way to spend the most romantic of all holidays, we'd by lying ... More >>

Toby the Red Panda Digs His Valentine's Day Gift: A Guide to Help You Score, Too

By Houston Zoo​Now that's the kind of satisfied and excited look you want in the face of whoever gets your Valentine's Day gift this year. Toby, a red panda at the Houston Zoo, is allegedly enjoying some fruit here, but we think it looks more like a pair of sexy granny panties (Not an oxymoro ... More >>

Sweets for the Sweet at Perry's

​Perry's has introduced some new dessert items that took over a year to conceptualize, tweak, taste, tweak again and, finally, present to the public just in time for Valentine's Day - although, ironically, these desserts will NOT be available today, because Perry's is only offering a pre-fixe ... More >>

Five NBA Love Stories (For Valentine's Day)

The NBA: Love is in the air​Let me be the millionth to say that I hate Valentine's Day. It's a sham. It's a farce. It's a fabrication designed to stimulate the economy and jump-start jewelry, flower, restaurant and sex toy business for a random day in the dead period of February. And yet, as ... More >>

Odd Pair: Heart-Shaped Cheese Pizza & Argiolas Costamolino

​While it is a fact that shaping the pizza like a heart will not alter its taste one bit, it certainly does make it cheesier. Puns aside, I have a dreadfully wonderful tradition of ordering cheap, heart-shaped pizza on Valentine's Day. This year, I wanted to find a wine that would really p ... More >>

Comment of the Day: A Truly Romantic Valentine's Day

​We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it's time we paid some damn attention to them. So we'll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day's work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula involv ... More >>

Conversation Heart-Infused Vodka

Flare​Valentine's Day is fast approaching, and for many of us, that translates to an increased desire for creative booze recipes. Why just drink when you can drink with a theme? It helps ease the alcoholic guilt of downing an entire fifth of vodka by yourself on a Monday evening. I recent ... More >>

Chocoholics Unite: Chocolate Festival at Central Market

​Right in time for V-Day, Central Market is hosting its annual Chocolate Festival. The aisles are filled with chocolate products of all varieties. One of my favorite local chocolatiers, Araya Artisan Chocolates, recently began selling their products at Central Market, making it even easier t ... More >>

Valentine's Day: Nine Awful Gift Ideas

We're sure that the procrastinators out there just started sweating reading that headline. Yes, you only have days to get that special whoever something for Valentine's Day, which is closing in on us, coming up on Monday. There are good gifts (all-day sex marathons, beef ribs served in bed, cash) ... More >>

Upcoming Events

​As mentioned yesterday, Lunar New Year will be celebrated this weekend across the city and in Chinatown in particular. The city's two biggest events will both take place near each other tomorrow, Saturday, February 5, so you can hit both if you can't make up your mind. The Chinese Community ... More >>

Chefs Taste Test Edible "Marital Aids" for Valentine's Day

We were terrified of the ball gag, too.​A chef, a pastry chef and a food critic walk into Erotic Cabaret. It's not the beginning of a joke; it's how I spent my Saturday afternoon. I took chef Jonathan Jones of Beaver's and pastry chef Jody Stevens of Jodycakes to the "marital aid" store this ... More >>

Upcoming Events

​Whether you have baking skills, crafting skills or just helping skills, you're invited to come out to Anvil Bar & Refuge on Monday, February 7 from 5 to 8 p.m. to help assemble Valentine's Day care packages for our troops serving abroad. Although there will be plenty of baked treats on hand t ... More >>

Openings and Closings

Poetry, Phoenicia-style.​Of the two hotly anticipated projects from the Tcholakian family that have been in the works, the smaller of the two has finally opened in west Houston: Phoenicia Coffee House and Deli (12151 Westheimer), in the same center as the giant Phoenicia market. The downtown i ... More >>

This Week in Deliciousness

This Valentine's Day, get her what she really wants: Russell Stover's Blood Diamond-Filled Truffles. Savor the Sparklies, Taste the Oppression!™​ Hello, and welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where we were considering being cremated upon death, but now we think we'd ... More >>

Hot New Chocolatier in Town

​Dark chocolate bark with chipotle and almonds marked the beginning of a romantic Valentine's Day season at my house. My wife is wild about chocolate and chile pepper confections, so I try to buy her some every year at this time. I used to mail-order the wonderful chocolate-and-chile pepper ba ... More >>

Unusual Suspects at The Usual

Trackside bar welcomes amateur karaoke stars — and everybody else

Down with Love

Love the Day

Daydream Believer

The Davenport's Barbie's Bathwater

Dish